What does -blast mean in medical terms?

-blast

Meaning: immature cell; germ cell

Type: Suffix

A suffix goes at the very end of a word, after the root. On this page: what -blast means, and real medical words that use it, each broken down into its parts.

Example words using -blast

osteoblast
osteo (bone) + -blast (immature cell) = immature bone-forming cell
fibroblast
fibro (fiber) + -blast (immature cell) = immature fiber-forming cell

Shortened forms

Charts and notes shorten long terms — see the Medical Abbreviations guide for the short forms you will meet in real records.

Please note: This section teaches the language of medicine — what word parts mean and how terms are built. It is an educational reference, not medical advice. For the meaning of a word in your own medical record, ask the clinician who wrote it.